“Our destination focus is one of the main pillars that separates us in the market,” said Joe Leon, vice president, sales – Americas, for Silversea Cruises. “We are all in the business of taking travelers to destinations, but at Silversea we sail to more than 900 destinations, which is more than double anyone else in the luxury segment. And we do that with our deployment of classic voyages as well as expedition voyages.”
But it is more than just the number of ports Silversea sails to, according to Leon, it is really about they how visit those ports, and the types of ports the ships sail into because of their size.
And while operators in the luxury and expedition market segments tend to be all-inclusive to some degree, Silversea may be the only truly all-inclusive product in the space, Leon said.
“We offer the only door-to-door service. We are the only ones that include a private car transfer from guests’ homes in our pricing, if their city falls within the scope of our service cities. We also include economy rate air with the option to upgrade to business class often at a reduced rate.
“And once onboard, everything is included, beverages and gratuities, and the food is obviously top notch with up to eight restaurants to choose from.
“The excursions are also included throughout the voyage, and all the excursions for the expeditions, as we are the infrastructure in many of the places we visit; we are the DMC (destination management company); we are the tour guides.
“We have taken a hyperlocal approach to how we source tour companies, trying to move away from working with global DMCs, the big companies that cruise lines source tours from. Instead, we are focused on truly local operators and local experts.
“Our goal is to be able to offer the most authentic experience and to be more than just a means of transportation and a way for people to arrive somewhere; we want to be part of that experience,” Leon underscored.
Silversea introduce the Endeavour for the 2022-23 Antarctica season. And by adding an expedition ship, the brand has been able to offer more of a variety of expeditions during the season and supporting its new fly-cruise product. What this product does is to provide travelers the opportunity to fly to the continent, do a seven-day cruise in Antarctica, then fly back over the Drake to South America before taking their international flight home, Leon said.
The first of a new generation of ships, the Silver Nova, is slated to enter service later this summer to be followed by a sister ship, the Silver Ray, next year. They will not only increase Silversea’s capacity in classic (luxury) cruising but also change the way it delivers the product, according to Leon.
“The Nova and the Ray will be revolutionary in the luxury space,” he said.
“Guest spaces are unprecedented. Their design is unmatched. The ships represent new innovation in shipbuilding not just in terms of the architecture and the design of the ships, but also in terms of sustainability.
“We are building the vessels to visit destinations responsibly for many decades into the future. They have a strong focus on sustainability and will be adaptable to new technologies as they get introduced.”
“We are a luxury brand. We know the standards that our customers have defined as luxury for service, cuisine, accommodations and how the ships are appointed. I think we all do a good job in the space of delivering on those expectations, but for us, our identity starts with what is most important for the customer: visiting new places, learning about new cultures, experiencing new cuisines.
“That is our focus and you can see that through how we plan, how we innovate, and how we are building our new ships moving forward.”
Excerpt from the Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine Summer 2023
